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Home/Featured/River House Art
Sun burst and metal outdoor art

River House Art

The River House art gallery, located at Crevasse 22 along the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish, provides an indoor/outdoor exhibit space for local artists. And the gallery focuses on the beauty and culture of the region, along with environmental threats from living near the river.

river buoy sculpture near river levee with trees
A river buoy turned into an outdoor sculpture at the River House Art exhibit

outdoor art at the river house

The Mississippi River levee is the backdrop for an outdoor sculpture garden at the Crevasse 22 River House. A river buoy has been turned into a colorful metal sculpture. It’s a statement of the connection this region has to the mighty river. Visitors can walk through a ground-level maze of gravel that reminds me of the sediment flow that spreads across the river delta. Nearby, small half-domes of glass cover the ground and offer a glimpse of tiny micro-environments inside. “All kinds of things happen,” River House Director Jeanne Nathan explains. You never know what will grow inside, Nathan says, “little ant colonies, little special flowers that kind of like being in that little terrarium kind of setting.”

glass bubbles under oak tree at River House art exhibit
Dozens of glass bubbles under an oak tree
plants growing inside a glass bubble on the ground
Small plants and ants thrive under the clear dome

boats for livelyhoods and life saving

One of the outdoor sculptures features a pyramid of aluminum flatboats. The small boats are popular for fishing. But they serve the dual purpose of rescuing people from floodwaters.

several aluminum flatboats form a pyramid under trees with moss
A way of life in a low-lying fishing community

Sidney Torres III of the Torres/Burns Trust, which owns the River House Art gallery, says, “I recognize the need to educate people from all over as to who we are in order for us to be able to preserve who we are down here.” The River House is located at Crevasse 22, the site of a natural levee breach that flooded St. Bernard Parish in 1922.

art on display inside River House
Contemporary art on display in the Gallery

River house features regional art

The art on display inside the Crevasse 22 – River House is the work of New Orleans area artists. Some of the pieces highlight the area’s customs and culture. Hand-carved wood duck decoys fill an entire room. Below them on the floor is an old wooden pirogue.

wood duck decoy art and small boat part of river house display
Duck decoys and an old hand-made pirogue on display

contemporary sculptures

MaPo Kinnord has two large pottery vessels on display. She compares them to the improvisations of a musician. She says it allows the artist, “to free yourself from having any preconceived idea of what the next form is going to be. You let it flow.”

curving forms of pottery sculpture
Improvisational sculpture by artist MaPo Kinnord at the River House

A tribute to species survival

Artist Pippin Frisbie-Calder has created tributes to the return of the whooping crane in Louisiana. One piece is a life-sized feathered costume worn by humans who helped to reintroduce the large birds into the Louisiana marsh. The costume helps to prevent humans from imprinting on the birds.

artwork in the form of a whooping crane hands on wall
Whooping crane costume created by artist Pippin Frisbie-Calder

crevasse 22 – River house art featured on tv

Watch this Heart of Louisiana feature on art at the Crevasse 22 – River House

open for special events

The Crevasse 22 – River House and its art exhibits are currently open by appointment only, and for special events in St. Bernard Parish. For more information, call (504) 218-4807.

Crevasse 22 – River House,

8114 Saro Ln, St Bernard, LA 70085

Av. 52 Pte. C.F.E., Cleotilde Torres, Puebla, Pue., Mexico

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        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        November 4, 2022
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        Categories: Featured, New Orleans

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